Teach Me To Be Human

Chapter Three: Tickle Attack

Chapter Three: Tickle Attack

“What’s this place?” I asked, looking around gawking at everything.

“The lab.” Karter answered, walking away from me.

I walked around, examining things and came across a glass tube filled with a clear liquid. I went to grab it to get a closer look when Karter’s hand was placed on mine, stopping me.

“You do not want to touch that.”

I blushed and pulled my hand back. “Sorry.”

“The doctor got your tests back.

“And?”

“Do you want to look at them with me?”

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“I know what I am and I know how my body works. I don’t need confirmation on anything I already know.”

“You seem…”

“Annoyed? Yes, I am.”

“What is annoyed?”

I sighed, pulling over a stool, and sitting down. “When someone or something irritates you.”

“I am irritating you?”

“No.” I groaned. This wasn’t going to get anywhere. Especially trying to explain feelings to an alien who didn’t understand them. “Just don’t worry about it, okay?”

Karter’s eyebrows furrowed, but after a moment, he nodded.

“What do humans do for fun?” he asked, suddenly.

I sat there, taken aback, and didn’t quite know how to answer. “Well, we… do a lot of things for fun.”

“Like what?”

“We… Karter, this is a hard question.”

“Okay… What else irritates you?”

I scowled. There were many things. But one of them stood out the most. “Tickling. I hate it when people tickle me.”

Karter tilted his head to the side. “What is tickling?”

“Like, when someone lightly brushes their fingers across your skin repeatedly.” I reached forward and did just that to his neck.

“Am I supposed to feel something?”

I frowned. “I guess your skin isn’t as sensitive as mine.”

“Like this?” Karter copied what I had done to him and tickled my neck.

I giggled for a split second, then slapped his hand away. “Don’t do that!”

“Why not? You laughed. That means you like it.” He reached forward and grabbed at my side, proceeding in tickling me repeatedly.

“Karter, stop!” I cried through giggles, quickly jumping down from the stool and backing away from him.

Karter just stepped towards me and continued tickling my sides, with both hands this time.

“No, no!” I laughed, and then did the only thing my body would comprehend right then; dropping to the floor and curling up into a ball, while shielding my sides.

He knelt down beside me and became relentless in his tickling.

“Please!” I cried, slapping at his hands and laughing uncontrollably. “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!”